Tube flaring tool



May 30, 1944- R. D. MclNTosH 2,350,054

` TUBE FLARINQ T001..

Filed Aug.' 11, 1941 accompanying drawing, in which:

Patented May 30, 1944 TUBE FLARING TOOL Robert D. McIntosh, RiverForest, nl., sssignor to The Imperial 13T-ass Manufacturing Company;Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 11, 1941,Serial No. 406,429

s oiaims.

My invention relates to flaring tools and particularly smallhand-operated tools which can be carried about in a tool kit and whichare useful in making iiares on tubing such as, copper, aluminum andother thin-walled tubing of a variety of kinds.

Among the objects of my invention is'toj provide a new and improvedflaring tool whichA is quick and easy to operate in that the number ofVmeans on it so constructed that it can be used for a pliers-like gripwith either end of the clamping bars, one handle of the pliers being thelever and the other handle of the pliers being one end, or the other, ofthe clamping bars, depending on which end of the clamping bars is beingused to hold the tubing. f

Still another object of my invention is to provide a new and improvedflaring tool which is small and compact in Vconstruction featuringclamping bars provided withmeans for guiding them into proper contact,said means being kept small in size and located inwardly from the outerfaces of the clamping bars so that a yoke cooperable with the bars canbe kept small and the aperture in it for receiving the bars keptcorrespondingly small in order to reduce the size of the tool. y

Likewise among the objects of my invention is to provide a flaringtoolin which the clamping bars are provided with contacting' facesoperablewhen the bars are open or separated from one another which serves toprevent spreading :the bars too far apart so that they maybe'conveniently` brought backtogether again when a new tubeis tobeinserted 'and flared. f u

With these and other objects inview, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of mydevice whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in theFigure 1 is a top view of my iiaring tool showing the parts intube-clamping position;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the flaring tool with the partsin the position shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 4--4 ofFigure 1 showing a tube in the tool after the flaring operation has beencompleted; and

Figure 5 is a top view of the clamping bars alone in maximum openposition.

Although many kinds of flaring tools have been devised in the past forthe purpose of flaring thin-walled tubing, they have for the most partbeen so constructed that a large number of operations, though simple incharacter, have been needed in order to insert a tube in the tool, flareit and then extract it. Although satisfactory flares can be made withtools now on the market, the time consumed in making each flare causesconsiderable time to be lost unnecessarily when they are used. Moreover,most of the flaring tools heretofore constructed have relied uponscrew-threaded devices for tightening Vthe bars in place and likewisefor advancing the flaring punch into position. Since, in most cases, thethreads need to have a rather small pitch to produce the necessarypower, much time is needed in assembling and disassembling the toolafter the flaring operation has been completed. Furthermore, tools inthe` past have been so constructed that the clamping bars and yoke usedwith them are complete and separate units and have not taken advantageof the fact that the bars themselves might be used cooperably with theyoke in order to provide a lever action quick in its operation forassembling the parts of the tool in operating relationship.

In they embodiment selected to show my invention, there is shown a pairof clamping bars comprising oppositely disposed bars Iii and l2 havingcontacting facesV I4 and I6, respectively. A yoke I8 is designed to beslid over the bars and cooperate with them in making a iiare.

In the. opposite contacting faces of the clamping bars are provided aseries of semi-cylindrical recesses 20, 2|, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. Theseare of various sizes to accommodate tubing of different sizes. M

A separable connecting device is provided at adjacent ends of theclamping bars at one end of the pair of barscomprising, as here shown, a

view taken on the pin 28 in'the bar I2 adapted to be received into' arecess 30 on the inside face of the bar I0. It

will be noted that an outside face 32 of the bar I 8 and a correspondingoutside face 34 of the bar i2 is flush and clear of any portion of theconnecting device.

At the other end of the pair of clamping bars is provided a pivotedconnection. To form the pivoted connection, the bar Illyis .providedwith a recess 36 andthe-barn with a corresponding recess 38. A flatplate 4D is inserted in both recesses and has outer edges 4I and 42which are substantially flush with the outside surfaces V32 and 34,respectively, of the clamping bars .when the bars are in closedposition, as shown in Figure l. There is a slight clearancebetWeenlanedge 43 of the plate and the 'adjacentbottorns of the slots 38 and 38.The plate is secured to the bar I by means of a pivot pin-44 and to thebar I2 by means of a pivot pin 45.

A cut-away portion 48 is shown on the bar Ii) and a similar cut-awayportion 50 maybe made on the bar I 2. It will be noted that the cut-awayportions form a.- substantially V-shaped l.opening when the bars are in.closed position with the base of the V, or in any event the narrowestypart of the opening, adjacent the pivot pins 44 and 45. The Widerportion ofthe opening is adjacent theends of thebars.

On the yoke I8 there is provided a lower leg 52 adjacent the bottom ofthe clamping bars and an upper leg 54 adjacent the topside ofthe'clainping bars. The legs are joined by an integral connectingportion 56. The inside -faces of the legs 52 and 54, respectively, arespaced a distance "apart not less than the thickness of the flaring barsso Vthat the yoke may beslid easily over the bars.

Connected to the legs on the side opposite the connecting portion 55 isa lever 58. The lever is provided with a head 6I] pivotally secured tothe legs 52 and 54 by means of a pivot pin 62. It will be noted that thehead of the lever has a pair of cam faces 64 and 66 on opposite sidesthereof. Each cam face is .provided with a means for adjusting itsposition ycomprising a tapered screw 58 mounted centerably within aslot-'III and adapted to spread or to allow the slot to contract inorder to vary the relative positions of the clamping faces 64 and 66 sothat they may be spread apart from one another or permitted to contractto positions closer together and closer to the pivot pin 62.

The lower leg 52v is .provided with a cut-out portion II to permit theleg to surround tubing of the largest diameter for Which the tool isdesigned. In the connecting .portion 56 is a pin 'I2 located centerably,which is adapted to engage corresponding recesses I4 in the outer face32 of the bar I0 in order Ato generally locate the yoke over acorresponding tube-holding recess..

A flaring punch 'I6 is .carried by the yoke and in the embodimentshownrismounted in an aperture 'I8 in the upper leg 54. At the lower end ofthe aring punch is .a aring. cone 80 which is received in an enlarged.portion 82 of the aperture. There ,is an annular recess 84 around thelower end of the punch .and aspring-pressed ball 86 in the upper legwhich is designed to engage in the recess. A cross bar, 88 secured inthe upper end of the punch prevents it fromsliding clear through theaperture 18.

In operation, a length of tubing 9.!) of a selected size is cut oisquareat the end and placed in the tube-clamping recesses .of a correspondingsize, asV shown in Figures. Y1 yand 3.. Thev end of the tube isapproximately ush with the topside of the clamping bars. With the tubein place, clamping bars are brought together so that the pin 28 entersthe recess 30 and aligns the topsides respectively of the bars ID and I2with each other. The opposite ends of the bars are held together by theplate 4I) and pivot pins 44 and 48. .It will lbe noted that when thebars are brought together uponl a length of tubing, the outside facesare substantially ush and there are no protrusions of any kind outsidethe outer surfaces of the bars.

.After the tube has been placed between the lbars and held lightly inplace by hand, the yoke is slid over the bars from either end as thecase maybe andlocated over the recess holding the tube 98. The yoke willbe located substantially in proper position by means of engagement ofthe pin I2 with the corresponding recess 74. When the yoke is slid overthe bars, the lever 58 will be moved so that it extends laterally,thereby leaving a maximum amount of space within the yoke to allow afreesliding movement.

Should the recess containing the tube 9D be on the lefthand side of thecenter line of the flaring tool, as shown in Figure l, for example, thelever 58 is moved .in a counterclockwise direction, or toward the right,as viewed in Figure 1.

Movement of the lever in this direction will bring the cam face 68 incontact with the outside face 34 of the clamping bar I2. As the leverapproaches a position substantially parallel to the clamping bars, thehands of the mechanic can be spread'around the lever 58 and the clampingbar IE), using the parts like two han- -force to tightly clamp the tubein place. After the tube has thus been clamped, the aring punch I6 whichwas initially in the position shown by the solid lines in Figure 3, canbe brought down against the end of the tubing 90 and driven against itby a hammer or some suitable instrument in order to flare the end of thetube outwardly. to the position shown in Figure 4.

Having completed the are, the punch can be withdrawn .to `the positionshown in Figure 3 where it is held by means of the spring-pressed ball86 seated in the annular recess 84, so that the cone will be Yclear. .ofthe clamping bars and not interfere with sliding the yoke oi the bars.After the punch ,has been withdrawn, the lever 58 is opened away fromthe clamping bars .to a, lateral position in order to free the yoke fromthe bars. The yoke can then be readily slid over either end. When theyoke has been removed, the clamping bars are separated to the positionshown in Figure 5 and the ared tube extracted.

It will be noted that in maximum openV position, as shown in Figure 5,the cut-away portions 48 andil will be brought into substantialfaceto-face contact and permit the bars I8 and I2 -to bev separated onlya certain limited amount. The flat plate 40 in the slots 36 and 38,respectively, will maintain the bars in proper relationshipgto eaCh.other so that they -dont op out of alignment, and can be easily clampedagain onthe next tube which is to be flared.

Ifl the next tube should chance to be a -large sized tube adapted toptinto the recess 26, the yoke would then be located over the recess- 2Band the lever 58 instead of being rotatedcounterf clockwisewould berotated clockwise, as shown by the doted positions in Figure 1. In thiscase,1

the opposite end of the clamping bar l would be used as the other handleof a tool resembling a pair of pliers in order to force the opposite camface 64 against the outside face of the bar I2 for clamping the tube inplace. When the nare has been completed as previously described, theparts of the tool may be separated in the regular way.

There has thus been described a flaring tool which is easy and rapid inoperation and which utilizes the clamping bars for a variety of purposesin addition to the simple function of holding tubes of various sizes.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose ofmy invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modiiiedforms of structure, or use of mechanical equivalents, which may bereasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a ilaring tool having a pair of elongated clamping bars providedwith complementary recesses throughout their length for holding tubingof various sizes, the combination of a yoke forming a clamp having a legadjacent the underside of the bars, a leg adjacent the topside of saidbars and an integral connecting portion at adjacent ends of the legsoverlying the outer side of one of said bars, a lever arm having a headend pivotally secured between opposite adjacent ends of said legs, saidlever having an adjustable cam and cam face on each side of the headhaving a camming position against the adjacent bar forcing said barsinto clamped relationship against a tube when the lever is adjacent andsubstantially parallel to one end of said pair of clamping bars, saidlever and the clamping bar on the opposite side of the tube comprisingcooperative handles for manually compressing the bars against anyselected size of tube for either position of operation of said lever, anexpanding element on each of said cams providing when operated aVariation in the distance between said opposite cam faces, an aperturein the leg of said yoke adjacent the topside of the clamping bars, and ailaring die slidably supported on said leg in the aperture adapted to beforced into the tube for making a flare.

2. In a flaring tool having a pair of elongated clamping bars providedwith complementary recesses throughout their length for holding tubingof various sizes and sets of engaging means at the respective ends forholding the bars in place on a tube, the combination of a yoke forming aclamp having a leg adjacent the underside of the bars, a leg adjacentthe topside of said bars and an integral connecting portion at adjacentends of the legs overlying the outer side of one of said bars, said legsat the ends thereof remote from the connecting portion being unconnectedand providing a space there-between,

a lever arm having Va, head end pivotally secured between adjacent endsof said legs at the ends opposite said connecting portion, the pivotbeing located at a point a substantial distance from the surface of theadjacent bar, said lever having cam means on the head having a cammingposition against the adjacent bar forcing said bars into clampedrelationship against a tube, the breadth of the head between the pivotand one cam face at the widest part of the head being not less than thedistance between the pivot and the face of the adjacent bar, said leverhaving a cam actuating position adjacent and substantially parallel toone of said pair of clamping bars intermediate said sets of engagingmeans, said lever and the clamping bar on the opposite side of the tubecomprising cooperative handles and having relative pivotal movementtoward and away from each other in the same plane for manuallycompressing the bars against any selected size of tube, an aperture inthe leg of said yoke adjacent the top side of the clamping bars, and ailaring die extendable into the aperture and adapted to be forced intothe tube for making a are.

3. In a flaring tool having a pair of elongated clamping bars providedwith complementary recesses throughout their length for holding tubingof various sizes and sets of engaging means at the ends of the bars forholding said bars in place on a tube the combination of a yoke forming aclamp having a leg adjacent the underside of the bars, a leg adjacentthe topside of said bars and an integral connecting portion at adjacentends of the legs overlying the outer side of one of said bars, a leverarm having a head end pivotally secured at its mid point betweenadjacent ends of said legs opposite said connecting portion, a pair ofcam faces each having points along the face thereof spaced at varyingincreasing distances from the pivot point, the most i remotely spacedpoint being at a distance from the pivot point not less than thedistance from the pivot point to the face of the adjacent bar; therebeing one of said cam faces on each side of the head equidistant fromthe pivot, each said cam face having a camming position against theadjacent bar intermediate said sets of engaging means forcing said barsinto clamped relationship against a tube when one side or the other ofthe lever is adjacent and substantially parallel to an end of said pairof clamping bars, said lever and the clamping bar on the opposite sideof the tube comprising cooperative handles for manually compressing thebars against any selected size of tube for either position of operationof said lever, an aperture in the leg of said yoke adjacent the topsideof the clamping bars, and a flaring die supported on said leg in theaperture adapted to be forced into the tube for making a flare.

ROBERT D. MCIN'I'OSH.

